Enigma05

What will fate bring them? Filmed 3 years ago, as always I go into each drama without any expectations and as though I knew the ML, both second leads, and various other characters; it was my first time seeing the FL outside one variety show. I will say I was very pleasantly impressed by the storyline as a whole and the characters.

Pros: The arcs were seamlessly intertwined and went from one to another without missing a beat. Our leads met and that too had a lot to do with fate as he saved her when they were kids but because of that he fell from his demon world into her mortal one and both lost their memories. He thought he was a human and therefore adopted as one becoming the successor demon hunter (ironically) of a righteous sect. Due to the blow he took for her, some of his demonic blood got into her left eye making her see demons with one eye. So it became a demon living a human life as a demon hunter & a human able to see demons all thanks to each other. None of this was revealed until much later in the show as they continued to solve cases seemingly unrelated and yet very much so together. He taught her that like humans, there were good and bad demons and that both species could peacefully coexist, especially if demons cultivated enough to shape-shift into human form.

ML or XY grew up in a sect/demon hunter/pharmacuetical family but was dealt a heavy blow 6 years prior when his human family was possessed by a poisonous demon and he had to kill them; though after a cryptic message to XY in regards to his demonic origins that his son only understood towards the end, his father chose to end his own life. XY was living in the shadows of that awful night and even though he was exonerated of the murders by his "uncle" aka the antagonist of the piece, rumors never ceased and he was not only distrusted but also hated by ignorant people. His father upon discovering XY's truth, created a powerful mystical tattoo bracelet to keep the truth always hidden under the ruse that it would protect him in times of danger. XY inherited his adoptive father's 5 mystical hidden swords that he carried with him everywhere and were used accordingly. They however always had a backlash affect each time he would use them, first on himself and then on the FL and others in close proximity.

FL or BX was a young lady that could see demons out of her left eye only. She came from a very wealthy family and though they loved her very much, they kept her sheltered and drugged because they didn't believe in the existence of demons so they thought she was crazy. Due to that at first, she was very shy and timid but once the truth was revealed to her with the Hidden-Owl demon her cousin married and meeting XY, she started to get braver and more outspoken until both her brother realized and her father admitted that he had lied to her. He mother supposedly passed 10 years before and then suddenly her father was supposedly murdered in a fire. But BX was smarter than to believe the latter so that's how her path with XY would permanently cross, change, and evolve.

Bringing demons and people to justice, ultimately rescuing both of her parents and trying to figure out who the mastermind was while at the same time XY's origins came to light with his brother coming into the mortal realm kept them busy and us wanting more. I was very proud of BX as she reminded me a lot of MQG from "Love of the Divine Tree", no matter how dire the situation was, she remained determined to stay by XY's side and fix whatever problem together. She would cry and that steadfastly made him understand she wasn't going anywhere. She even rescued him when he changed into his demon body and was caught.

Romance and love was very subtle but it was there. It never overpowered anything else that was going and there was a lot. Their bond remained (I believe) even when she let him go and didn't follow him to his world at the end because she knew that at that time she didn't belong there and that perhaps in 12 years they would reunite and by that time she could go with him. It was a bittersweet OE but given that she was a human and he was a demon, neither could give up their responsibilities; his to his land as he was a prince plus his land was in chaos and dying out plus his brother couldn't handle it on his own anymore and her to her family as they were still young. In 12 years a lot could and would change and perhaps as his adoptive father said (who like everyone else that died, came back when XY restarted their timelines only with everyone forgetting his existence except BX who was once again deemed crazy but for different reasons as opposed to seeing demons, this time she knew there was someone she was never meant to forget, their love being that strong and of course with the help of some demon who somehow retained all his memories, she finally remembered but with only one day to spare), he hoped he and XY would reunite again. I firmly believe that day will come in 12 years for father, son, and BX and this time she would go with him.

The friends and supporting characters that were awesome adding to the already phenomenal martial arts of XY and comedy were CX our beloved bunny, YH, SLL, WJ, XY's dad, BX's family, ZK, and several other demons they met like Nine Lives and the snake serpent one; I've liked the actor ever since I've seen him in TLB though it's been a long time and though he had a small role here, it still was great. The small villains all did what they were supposed to do except for the little shit sand demon who could have just said his lines not shrieked them; would have helped a lot. The main antagonist, we knew who he was from nearly the beginning so no real surprise there but he played him well even surprising me with how strong of a martial artist he was considering he seemed in poor health when we saw him the few times before more and more of his motives were revealed. Out of all of the arcs, the creepy doll one was my favorite. The acting on her part was scary accurate to a real marionette doll.

The sets and CGI was done really well, you felt it was almost 3D, costumes were also on point. You could also tell how XY's character changed with his costumes; from who cares how I look, to lighter outer clothing if happy or darker if upset to black leather as prince black Panther at the end.

Cons: While a lot was very well done, somethings lacked like calling it "The Demon Hunter's Romance" should have been instead called "The Experience of a Demon Living & Loving as a Human in the Human World." We all know Allen Ren doesn't do romance well especially the kissing for whatever his personal reasons are; thankfully here the romance was subtle and ran more like an underlying current but it would still have been nice to at least get one proper kiss in since it was part of the genre. Furthermore, AR should try other genres other than romance because he'd do great in those where romance was unnecessary.

Felt the last few episodes were rushed especially XY making everyone forget him as he restarted the timeline and though some events still happened as that was fate, others didn't and even in this second chance BX was not timid but brave. But as he stood or followed watching her grow up, you felt incredibly sad for him that he was all alone in this world where he used to have friends. The drag out to the final episode while she just spent all her time running into him and crying while trying to remember, I felt was very cruel to her. I do think that basically the entirety of 36 once she FINALLY got her memories back for me anyways it was understandable that they were going to part. There was no way around that and they spent most of 36 basically getting ready for that. I don’t think she was going to marry anyone else and neither was he. I firmly believe they will reunite in 12 years, forever this time.

Now it's coming out from the screenwriter that they had actually written BX as a half demon which is what the majority of us thought she was and therefore could have left with him and we could have had a great happy ending. But the directors for whatever reason decided to go this "creative" route instead. While I'm fine with a well written bittersweet although hopeful OE, I would have preferred the half demon/HE instead and it would have made even more sense. Directors made a similar decision in A Moment But Forever and it could have been better with the more obviously and already written HE. More often than not these "creative" choices do a drama more harm than good.

None of the OSTs were memorable other then sometimes drowning out what the characters were saying. Proper editing could have handled that.

Would I recommend it? I totally would! This story had so many amazing plots and subplots interwoven and the characters that you grew to love and admire even if they were on screen for a short time, that you just wanted to watch more of it. It took 3 years, but it was worth the wait!